My childhood was filled with art. I spent my days exploring the woods of Pennsylvania, my evenings were spent creating, coloring, painting, and sketching the nature and things I had experienced that day. As a teenager, I discovered the art of photography through a local 4-H group, and won my first award for a photograph of an outhouse.
After high school I attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I graduated in 1986 with a degree in photography and multi-media. At just 22, I opened my photography studio in Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
For 13 years I successfully ran my studio while raising two wonderful children. My portraits hang in thousands of homes, have won many awards, and have been published internationally. My photography flourished throughout this time, I put my painting aside, creating one painting every few years.
In 2001, I was diagnosed with depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I started sketching daily to cope with my mental health. These sketches were crucial in discovering the source of my PTSD. Through art therapy I took my art in a new, healing direction. The following year I closed my studio doors and moved to the hills of West Virginia to focus on my recovery and my children.
In 2006 and 2010 I did shows in Columbus using art I had created while healing from my mental health issues. These shows were a platform for me to speak about mental health and the healing power of creating.
2011 was the year of change in my life. Instead of letting the winter months get me depressed, I decided to paint daily. I bought a 4′ by 4′ canvas and began painting for the first time in years. Instead of laying in my bed listening to the negative voices in my head I did something different, I painted. Surprisingly it worked! The depression was pushed to the background. The resulting painting “Dragon by the Tail” boosted my confidence in my skills as a painter. Now, knowing that painting heals, it has become my mission to use this tool to heal all.
In addition to making art for healing, I also facilitate a creative recovery group. This group is based on Julia Cameron’s book, “The Artist’s Way” and encourages creative expression. In this group I share recovery tools that work for me; creation, meditation, journaling, yoga, walking, and positive affirmations.
I have completed over 75 paintings and have progressed from acrylic paint to oil. I often utilize photographs of nature as references for my paintings.
In 2017 I fulfilled my dream of traveling with my art. I have been traveling, creating new photographs and paintings. At festivals I show and sell my art, and I guide painting workshops where participants learn a variety of painting techniques and complete a painting of their own.
I also live paint at festivals. Festival goers get to watch my process and bid on the painting, it goes home with the highest bidder. In these live paintings I depict the feel of the festival and include real characters, like the musicians on stage, street performers, and attendees. For this work, I have been called a Visionary Folk Artist.
In the fall of 2018, I received a grant from Greater Columbus Arts Council to have a master glass artist, Sally Rand from West Virginia, teach me to make faceted glass windows.
“It is my desire to inspire”
Kim Keffer
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